I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to communications systems. More particularly, the present invention relates to a novel and improved method for hard handoff between different wireless communication systems.
II. Description of the Related Art
In a code division multiple access (CDMA) spread spectrum communication system, a common frequency band is used for communication with all base stations within that system. An example of such a system is described in the TIA/EIA Interim Standard IS-95-A entitled "Mobile Station-Base Station Compatibility Standard for Dual-Mode Wideband Spread Spectrum Cellular System", incorporated herein by reference. The generation and receipt of CDMA signals is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,981,307 entitled "SPREAD SPECTRUM MULTIPLE ACCESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS USING SATELLITE OR TERRESTRIAL REPEATERS" and in U.S. Pat. No. 5,103,459 entitled "SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR GENERATING WAVEFORMS IN A CDMA CELLULAR TELEPHONE SYSTEM" both of which are assigned to the assignees of the present invention and incorporated herein by reference.
Signals occupying the common frequency band are discriminated at the receiving station through the spread spectrum CDMA waveform properties based on the use of a high rate pseudonoise (PN) code. A PN code is used to modulate signals transmitted from the base stations and the remote stations. Signals from different base stations can be separately received at the receiving station by discrimination of the unique time offset that is introduced in the PN codes assigned to each base station. The high rate PN modulation also allows the receiving station to receive a signal from a single transmission station where the signal has traveled over distinct propagation paths. Demodulation of multiple signals is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,490,165 entitled "DEMODULATION ELEMENT ASSIGNMENT IN A SYSTEM CAPABLE OF RECEIVING MULTIPLE SIGNALS" and in U.S. Pat. No. 5,109,390 entitled "DIVERSITY RECEIVER IN A CDMA CELLULAR TELEPHONE SYSTEM", both of which are assigned to the assignee of the present invention and incorporated herein by reference.
The common frequency band allows simultaneous communication between a remote station and more than one base station, a condition known as soft handoff disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,101,501 entitled "SOFT HANDOFF IN A CDMA CELLULAR TELEPHONE SYSTEM" and U.S. Pat. No. 5,267,261 entitled "MOBILE STATION ASSISTED SOFT HANDOFF IN A CDMA CELLULAR COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM", both assigned to the assignee of the present invention and incorporated herein by reference. Similarly, a remote station can be simultaneously communicating with two sectors of the same base station, known as softer handoff as disclosed in copending U.S. Patent Application entitled "METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PERFORMING HANDOFF BETWEEN SECTORS OF A COMMON BASE STATION", Ser. No. 08/405,611, filed Mar. 13, 1995, assigned to the assignee of the present invention and incorporated herein by reference. Handoffs are described as soft and softer because they make the new connection before breaking the existing one.
If a mobile station travels outside the boundary of the system with which it is currently communicating, it is desirable to maintain the communication link by transferring the call to a neighboring system, if one exists. The neighboring system may use any wireless technology, examples of which are CDMA, NAMPS, AMPS, TDMA or FDMA. If the neighboring system uses CDMA on the same frequency band as the current system, an inter-system soft handoff can be performed. In situations where inter-system soft handoff is not available, the communication link is transferred through a hard handoff where the current connection is broken before a new one is made. Examples of hard handoffs are those from a CDMA system to a system employing an alternate technology or a call transferred between two CDMA systems which use different frequency bands (inter-frequency hard handoff).
Inter-frequency hard handoffs can also occur within a CDMA system. For example, a region of high demand such as a downtown area may require a greater number of frequencies to service demand than the suburban region surrounding it. It may not be cost effective to deploy all available frequencies throughout the system. A call originating on a frequency deployed only in the high congestion area must be handed off as the user travels to a less congested area. Another example is that of a microwave or other service operating on a frequency within the system's boundaries. As users travel into an area suffering from interference from the other service, their call may need to be handed off to a different frequency.
Handoffs can be initiated using a variety of techniques. Handoff techniques, including those using signal quality measurements to initiate handoff, are found in copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/322,817 entitled "METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR HANDOFF BETWEEN DIFFERENT CELLULAR COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS", filed Oct. 16, 1994, assigned to the assignee of the present invention and incorporated herein by reference. Further disclosure on handoffs, including measurement of round-trip signal delay to initiate handoff, is disclosed in copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/652,742 entitled "METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR HARD HANDOFF IN A CDMA SYSTEM", filed May 22, 1996, assigned to the assignee of the present invention and incorporated herein by reference. Handoffs from CDMA systems to alternate technology systems are disclosed in copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/413,306 ('306 application) entitled "METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MOBILE UNIT ASSISTED CDMA TO ALTERNATIVE SYSTEM HARD HANDOFF", filed Mar. 30, 1995, assigned to the assignee of the present invention and incorporated herein by reference. In the '306 application, pilot beacons are placed at the boundaries of the system. When a mobile station reports these pilots to the base station, the base station knows that the mobile station is approaching the boundary.
When a system has determined that a call should be transferred to another system via hard handoff, a message is sent to the mobile station directing it to do so along with parameters that enable the mobile station to connect with the destination system. The system has only estimates of the mobile station's actual location and environment, so the parameters sent to the mobile station are not guaranteed to be accurate. For example, with beacon aided handoff, the measurement of the pilot beacon's signal strength can be a valid criteria for triggering the handoff. However, the appropriate cell or cells in the destination system which are to be assigned to the mobile station (known as the Active Set) are not necessarily known. Moreover, including all the likely possibilities may exceed the maximum allowable in the Active Set.
In order for the mobile station to communicate with the destination system, it must lose contact with the old system. If the parameters given to the mobile station are not valid for any reason, i.e. changes in the mobile station's environment or lack of precise location information at the base station, the new communication link will not be formed, and the call may be dropped. After an unsuccessful handoff attempt, the mobile station can revert back to the previous system if it is still possible to do so. With no further information and no significant change in the mobile station's environment, repeated attempts to hand off will also fail. Thus, there is a need felt in the art for a method for performing additional hard handoff attempts with greater probability of success.